Sydney City Citroen said if approval was received by 2pm today they could repair the car and we'd have it back this afternoon. So I phoned Citroen Australia who said they requested additional documentation and were still waiting for it.

It took 4 more phone calls and two emails across the afternoon until I finally got to speak with someone at the dealer at 4:45pm who explained that they have to submit paperwork via their own dealer warranty department who then on-send it to Citroen Australia for approval. Apparently my car is one of 6 cases this person is managing and the additional paperwork has gone to their warranty department but not on-sent to PCA.

So we won't have the car back this weekend and at this stage it's not even looking likely for the first half of next week.

Inchcape and what's left of their Citroen dealer network is a total shambolic f*#@ing mess.

You probably won't like what I'm about to say.

However, I'd suggest you are receiving karma for "poking the pig"

And I'm left wondering why would except to be given premium service now or ever from Incape ?

I have no cars under warranty, but I clearly remember that time. Fixing things was simple and prompt, from other old dealers as well as CC. You notified the dealer, got a booking within a day or two at most, received a loaner for the day (no charge at CC), and bob's your uncle.

It is now a shambles. I must say that I'd have tried to have the work done outside Sydney, instead of beating my head against this wall.

It isn't excused by the changeover. SD took over from Ateco cleanly by comparison. It's a mixture of Inchcape cockup and the behemoths they prefer to deal with here in town.

Didn't really have much in the way of information for Australia specifically, other than we'll be getting one new Citroen a year, because anymore than that, will overload the 'huge' dealer network that Citroen currently has in Australia .....

I sat in the new C5 Aircross in Shanghai in April last year and I was pretty impressed with the way it looked inside and out. It should be sold for CX5 money when they do finally launch it here, but we all know it'll be $10,000 more!!

I really like the C3 Aircross and it would be the perfect replacement for our Peugeot 2008, but I don't know if we can go down that road of next to no dealer support for a new car?

I really like the C3 Aircross and it would be the perfect replacement for our Peugeot 2008, but I don't know if we can go down that road of next to no dealer support for a new car?

Ditto for the C3 Aircross, but having drooled over the 3008 we climbed in one and weíre now thinking we couldnít put up with the cramped feeling and A pillar blind spot when compared to our C4 Picasso which has the same engine and transmission in any case plus better aero efficiency.
Swings and roundabouts though for dealerships, with our situation significantly improved.

Ditto for the C3 Aircross, but having drooled over the 3008 we climbed in one and weíre now thinking we couldnít put up with the cramped feeling and A pillar blind spot when compared to our C4 Picasso which has the same engine and transmission in any case plus better aero efficiency.
Swings and roundabouts though for dealerships, with our situation significantly improved.

We did look at a 3008 recently, but it's just too big for our needs. Would much prefer a C4 Picasso (5 seat), but they don't sell them here anymore and they were pretty pricey when new! There aren't many second hand ones around either. We only do city driving and rarely venture out into rural area's, so we really only need a small car or wagon. The Skoda Fabia wagon is probably the best choice.

I hate towbars (knee breakers) on my and other people's vehicles with a vengeance and removable "tongues' are clutter in back and a source of rattles.

I hire a Bunning's ute when/ if I need something large be carried. About the same cost as hiring trailer (scarce as rocking horse poop at our local Bunnings)and far more convenient once your details are the "system".

EDIT:
Even I, a major off topic offender, are beginning to think some of this thread's content may best be moved elsewhere.

We did look at a 3008 recently, but it's just too big for our needs. Would much prefer a C4 Picasso (5 seat), but they don't sell them here anymore and they were pretty pricey when new! There aren't many second hand ones around either. We only do city driving and rarely venture out into rural area's, so we really only need a small car or wagon. The Skoda Fabia wagon is probably the best choice.

We lucked out on one of the last great C4s for $34K OR...laughable, so much for so little and an indictment on failure to advertise by SD .
After getting home in the Astra , itís now like being in a mini bus and vastly better cross traffic vision compared to these thick A pillars.
Itís a keeper, thatís for sure.

We have the Rs version . However they are very small. Especially when hardware shopping. Even with the rear seats folded down, the absolute maximum 2.3 m and that's with one end a top the dash.

I'd suggest you have a look at the Octavia, not a lot more expensive nor much bigger and more cargo space.

Having said that we love car and excellent visibility and cabin space and a low boot lip. And we constantly get around 5l/100 km.

Yes, the Octavia manual wagon would also be another option. There are some around, 2017 plate 110TSI's, for around $27,000 D/A, which represent great value, even though most of them are white in colour. I'm still warming to the new headlight design on them. It's not going to be for another 6 months at least ....

So coming back to Inchcape, and following the cacophony of rumours, I have to come in and sing the praise of a particular Citroen dealer.

This was brought about by the fact that DS motors in Brisbane closed their doors and I always preferred John at DS to do the servicing on the C5.
With them being gone I thought I'd go to the dealer on the Gold Coast for service -I had gone there once before for repairs on another C5 - And found the service reasonably priced, the guys knowledgeable, did a couple of diagbox changes for me at no extra cost and the whole experience topnotch plus they use genuine Total Quartz oil, unlike some of the other dealers.......and the car washed and vacuumed on top of that.
So it's not all doom and gloom if you own a Citroen!

And I'm left wondering why would except to be given premium service now or ever from Incape ?

Attitude is a two way emotion.

And this time it's Inchcape's turn to return the "favor"

So you think that my few emails to Claudio complaining about the dealer network change has led to Inchcape taking revenge on me?

Wouldn't they be better off proving that their decision hasn't adversely impacted existing Citroen customers by ensuring that I received good service? Otherwise they are confirming my initial concerns.

I tried to contact Claudio when this issue first arose but he is on leave. As unhappy as I am with Inchcape, I sincerely doubt they'd have that motivation against an individual. It's not like my emails triggered a sell off on the ASX.

I've had 17 years of exceptional service from Continental Cars so I am not used to being inconvenienced when my car is off the road for service or repair. For warranty issues, that's no longer the case, sadly.

Peugeot-Citroen dealer in Fyshwick wasn't any better.
"Cars of Canberra".
My daughter refuses to take her car there , they don't answer the phone and don't answer messages.
She had some issue whilst making an inquiry and the staff member relied,
"Your not one of our customers!"

"She had some issue whilst making an inquiry and the staff member relied,
"Your not one of our customers!" "

The daughter said they went through the motions of customer service but there seemed a lack of respect for the customer.
There are a few Citroen around uni where she is.
Word of mouth is important for any business to do well and i think the daughter was surprised at the casual attitude.

"She had some issue whilst making an inquiry and the staff member relied,
"Your not one of our customers!" "

The daughter said they went through the motions of customer service but there seemed a lack of respect for the customer.
There are a few Citroen around uni where she is.
Word of mouth is important for any business to do well and i think the daughter was surprised at the casual attitude.

Youíd like to think it was the inflection or tone used rather than dismissal. Either way poor communicators in any case.

It's taken me three phone calls and lots of waiting on the line to get through to the person at Sydney City who is managing the repair.

He has explained that his internal warranty people have not yet been given approval. Apparently they have to submit a request to Citroen in France for approval of any warranty repair where the part costs in excess of $2,000. Inchcape say they are waiting for the dealer to provide additional information. I don't know if that's a separate hoop the dealer must jump through.

Anyway, no-one can tell me when the the car will be repaired, so I am considering going over to get it back while they tick boxes and send emails to one-another.

I wrote an email to Linda Jackson, Citroen CEO. The benefit of having a LinkedIn account. It probably won't help but given her comments about the importance of listening to customers in the article on the Practical Motoring website, I thought I would provide some direct feedback on how I've gone from being a Citroen fan, enthusiast and brand ambassador for 17 years to being an angry and unhappy customer in the space of a few months. All due to Inchcape's management of the local dealer network.

"I wrote an email to Linda Jackson, Citroen CEO. The benefit of having a LinkedIn account."
The point is Citroen is a great product and maybe they need to know the service needs to improve here and it is not what some customers have in mind?

Some car companies operate right outside the square and their dealers do the same, Morgan for one flourishes because all the way down the line people "get it".
Citroen/Peugeot/Renault customers demand something different which is why they don't buy Toyota.
You can't change this and it seems a fundamental mistake not have insight into the reasons why people like French cars if your in the business of selling and servicing them?